The Representative of Hope
by Compass94
Summary: Jolty is chosen by a mysterious mark called "Golen" to rule the tortured country of Aesler. Now she must beat the tyrant that governs the country and take her place as the rightful ruler of Aesler.
1. Introduction

**This is a story about a country inhabited only by Pokemon named Aesler. The way Pokmeon live in the story is similar to that of the humans in a way as they have towns and cities, furniture and so on. I started writing this fic about a year ago while the idea is two years old but it still remains my first fanfic and I still have a lot to learn so comments and critisism are always welcome.  
**

**Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Pokemon but I do own the characters and plot of this story.**

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**Introduction**

Aesler is a country dominated by the Jicicle Dynasty, a dynasty of tyrants. The Jicicles are greedy, heartless and power-thirsty and since they rose to power, Aesler decays. However, the land of Aesler was once prospering and living in peace because of its noble rulers, the Representatives. The Representatives were seventeen pokemon of a different type each who used to rule the country for thousands of years. They were just, kind, wise and protected Aesler and its pokemon. They had a mark named Golen which appeared (it's unknown how) at the bodies of the pokemon who were worthy enough to rule the country. The Golen seemed to have mysterious powers. It always chose pokemon who were great leaders and wonderful characters. As long as the Representatives (or Golenors, which means chosen by the Golen) ruled, the pokemon lived happy and peaceful lives.

However, it seems that even the Golen and its mysterious powers make mistakes. There came a time when the mark chose the wrong pokemon. Horan, an ambitious and power-thirsty Dragonite, wanted to rule the country alone. Although the sixteen other Representatives had their reservations for their partner, none of them could imagine that he was planning to betray them. _"They'll die in three days… In three days, I'll be the sole ruler of Aesler!"_ That's what Horan wrote in his diary which was found later on. Indeed, three days after these words were written in the diary, the Representatives disappeared, not to be seen again. Horan though, wasn't there to finally dominate the land. He had left for the north and never returned. Thus, the country was a toy in the hands of any pokemon with power as the pokemon were too panicked to bring any resistance. That's how Jicicle, with the aid of an army he had formed, attacked Sorvenvar, the greatest castle in Aesler and the place where the temporary leader lived. The weak and incapable leader that was picked to rule the country until a decision about how Aesler would be ruled was taken, got killed. Since then, Jicicle's descendants rule Aesler and no new Representative was born... until twelve years ago.

Jolty, a twelve-year old Jolteon, is the first Representative to be born after three centuries. Although very young, Jolty has to leave her house and begin her life as a Representative. That's because the former-capital, Forenham, the only place in Aesler that's not under the tyrant's control, is besieged by the tyrant's army and is ready to fall. As the city is pretty important for the fight against the tyrant, Jolty has to rush to the city's side and help the Forenhamians beat the army. Then she must begin a rebellion and to do that, she has to journey around Aesler and prove herself to be a good Representative.

At the point the story begins, Jolty has met three other kids of her age, Rien, Delilah and Feather, in a forest. The three kids ask to join her in her struggle to overthrow the tyrant but she denies their offer thinking that they saw her mission as a game. However, when the father of Delilah, who's the tyrant's advisor, and a soldier stumble upon the Jolteon and start chasing her to take her to the tyrant, Rien, Delilah and Feather appear to her rescue and show her shortcuts out of the forest. A three-day-long chase begins until the four Pokemon reach the southern coast of the Great Gulf and ask the Lapras herd to save them and carry them to the former-capital to the north of the Gulf.

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	2. Chapter 1: On the back of a Lapras

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon but I do own the characters and plot of this story.**

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**Chapter 1**

**On the back of a Lapras**

Lyol, the leader of the Lapras herd, was swimming quickly carrying Rien, Delilah, Feather and I to the north, towards Forenham. The southern coast of the Great Gulf could not be seen anymore and that created the expression we were in open sea as we could see no land. As it was our first time in the sea, we couldn't help but admire it. The water had a wonderful blue color and was so clear that we could see the bottom. The August sun was reflecting on the water and made the waves sparkle while warming us as much as the gentle breeze that was blowing allowed it. It was the second day of our voyage and the second day away from danger.

"Lyol, can we go swimming?" Delilah excitedly asked the male Lapras. Delilah was a female, black and blue, cat-like pokemon. She had yellow eyes, big round ears and a yellow bracelet at each of her front legs. The tip of her tail was yellow and star-shaped. Although the Shinx weren't thought to be very beautiful pokemon, mostly because of their evolved forms, Delilah was as pretty as a Vulpix.

"Of course you can!" he said, turning his face to look at us. Lyol was blue-colored and had deep-blue spots covering all of his body. He had a big, spiky, grey-colored shell on his back and four fins. On his head stood a small horn and two curly things. "We're going to the coast!" he called to his herd and turned towards the east with the other Lapras following him.

"We're sorry we have to make you stray because we can't swim well." I told Lyol. Delilah and I had just learned how to swim the previous day so we couldn't swim in deep waters yet.

"It's okay Representative. We need a break anywat. Be grateful that we aren't that far from the coast because it could take us days to reach it. The Great Gulf is huge." He replied.

An hour or two later, the Lapras herd was having a rest at the beach as we played in the water. A male Lapras approached Lyol who was looking at us concerned.

"What's up leader? You seem worried." The Lapras asked his leader.

Lyol sighed. "Look at them, Gor. They're still kids. They want to play and have fun. Who chose them to undertake such a duty?"

"Well, the Representative was chosen by the Golen." Said Gor as he glanced at my mark on the right side of my torso. The Golen was black and propeller-like. It had eight "petals" and one white dot on each petal. In its middle stood a white, capital "G". "As for the other three, it was their choice to follow her."

"I'm afraid they don't know what they're into. Aesler's condition is far worse than it seems. The country's at the verge of destruction. There's no justice anymore. The criminals are treated as heroes and the good pokemon are executed. Pokemon go to jail because they don't have enough money to pay the taxes and whoever dares to express his own ideas and feelings, is meant to die. The country is at the most crucial part of its history, we desperately needed the best Representative of all time and what do we get? A kid!" Lyol exclaimed. "It's not that Jolty's not a good girl. She can really become a great Representative but she's too young to make it."

"I'm feeling the same, Lyol. It's a pity. From the little I know her, she's a wonderful person. It's going to be a shame to lose such a nice Pokemon. Maybe the time we'll be free again hasn't come yet." Gor swam back to the rest of the herd with a sigh. Lyol looked for one more time at the four of us who were splashing water at each other and approached some Lapras who were discussing.

~*~

The night had fallen and the sky was filled with stars. A big silver circle could be seen on the sea's surface. It was nothing else than the full moon's reflection. The Lapras had fallen asleep and Rien, Delilah, Feather and I were the only ones awake.

"You know," I started, not sure if I should tell them what I was thinking, "I heard Lyol talking with that other Lapras today…"

"We heard him too." Rien told me. Rien was a male Buizel, an otter-like, orange-colored pokemon with a yellow floatation sack around his neck. His tail was forked and his belly had a cream color while he had a blue blade on each of his elbows.

"I think he wasn't very careful. I mean, we're pokemon too. If we can spit fire from our mouths, it's not that difficult to hear someone who's ten meters away from us." Said Feather. Feather, a male Pidgeotto, was a brown and cream-colored pokemon with a long, red fluff atop his head and a red and yellow tail.

"Maybe he wanted us to hear him." I suggested. "It doesn't matter anyway. What matters is that he's right."

"Don't say that, Jolty!" Delilah told me in a slightly loud voice. "You shouldn't think like that!" she continued in a lower voice as there was some movement from the sleeping Lapras. "We have already escaped from the tyrant's advisor and a soldier."

"Delilah's right. We were running for three days with almost no breaks. My legs still hurt!" commented Rien and rubbed his front right leg.

"I know we did but that's the least we're going to face. Plus, we can't always run away. We'll eventually have to fight against soldiers."

"Then we'll fight!" Feather said with a determined tone in his voice. "We'll fight and we'll hope that we'll win as we hope that we'll beat the tyrant."

"Yeah but, how are we going to beat the tyrant if we have no allies? You heard what the other pokemon think about me. If they don't have faith in me, how am I going to help them?"

"It's gonna be difficult, Jolty, but you'll have to prove yourself. You may not be strong but you're clever and have a heart of gold. I may know you for only four days but, I can tell that with certainty." Delilah solemnly told me.

"We believe the same thing." Said Rien and Feather nodded. "Oh, c'mon." Rien exclaimed as he saw me looking at them in disbelief. "You're not called the Representative of Hope for nothing! You appeared in order to give hope to the pokemon of Aesler but, how are you going to give hope if you don't have hope yourself?"

_'The Representative of Hope?'_ I thought. _'I didn't know they called me so. Huh! I think I like it!'_

"You're right, guys." I finally said. "It's really not like me to be so miserable. I promise that I'll never lose my hope again, no matter what!"

"That's the Jolty we know and love!" cried Feather and we laughed.

"Seriously, now. Stop doing like you know me for years! We met before four days and most of that time we were running! I can't say we have spoken much!"

Delilah laughed. "It was enough to get an idea for what kind of pokemon you are. As you can see, we stuck together so you're probably a good girl."

I smiled. I realized for the first time that I may have just met my true friends. They seemed to care for me, even though we didn't know each other well. I lay on the shell and leaned my head on my legs. "Good night, guys!"

"Good night, Jolty!" I heard three voices replying and I immediately felt that this journey might not be as awful as I had thought it would be.

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**That was the first chapter of the story. It's a bit short and lacks action but the next ones are going to be longer and more exciting than this one. Comments and critisism are greatly appreciated.**

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	3. Chapter 2: The besieged city

**So, this is the second chapter of the story. It starts getting better but I have definitely written best chapters than this one. I hope you enjoy it! Comments and critisism are always welcome.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon (surprise, surprise) but I do own the characters and plot of this story.**

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**Chapter 2**

**The besieged city**

"Oh my goodness!" cried Delilah.

"The condition's far worse than I had imagined." Said Lyol.

We were quite far from the coast but, we didn't have to get any closer to understand what was happening. We saw the city of Forenham with its white houses and its impregnable walls built on a steep hill. Waves where splashing on the sharp rocks of the hill and made a deafening sound. All these where normal but as we looked towards the foot of the hill, we saw hundreds of tents extending until the first trees of the nearby forest and a deep red-colored flag, reeling over them. Details could not be seen but we knew exactly what all these meant.

"It's the tyrant's army." Feather solemnly said.

"Yeah, and there are more tents than the last time we were here. It's been a week since we met you at the southern coast but, it was enough for the reinforcements to come." Told us Lyol.

'_And two weeks since I left home…'_ I thought spontaneously. '_It's quite a long time.'_

"So, what are we going to do?" Rien asked the Lapras.

"I think that we must wait 'till night falls. Then, I'll leave you at the beach. You'll be on your own from then on, though." Lyol replied.

We looked at each other. That was it. Play time was over. That week we passed in the sea was great, but it had to end. Now, it was time for action.

~*~

A male, black-colored pokemon entered a big, red and white-colored tent. He was really annoyed and anxious. He seemed concerned about something. He was about to lay on his bed when he spotted a figure sitting on a chair.

"What is it?" asked the black-colored pokemon and approached the sitting pokemon. The two-legged and four-handed, bluish-white creature stood up as he saw the black pokemon coming towards him.

"Advisor Rai, I'm really sorry to get into your tent without permission. I hope I didn't bother you and-"

"Get to the point." Advisor Rai instructed the Machamp impatiently.

"Yes, of course." Said the pokemon and nervously scratched his head which had three yellow blades. "Uh, His Majesty, Jicicle the third asked me to learn if you managed to catch the Representative." The Machamp saw the red eyes of the advisor reflect the anger he should have been feeling, making him seem even crueler. Of course, the black and spiky fur that covered most of Rai's body except of his face and some parts of his legs didn't help the Luxray seem more pleasant.

"Tell to His Majesty that he would have gotten word if I had caught the kids." Replied the advisor calmly though his tail with the yellow star on its tip was whipping the air violently.

"I will, sir." The Machamp paused wondering if he should ask. "I'm sorry if my question's rude but, isn't your daughter one of the kids who followed the Representative?"

"Delilah…" murmured the Luxray from his barred teeth. "Yes, she is. If only I had managed to capture them back in the Luminous Forest she…" Rai left his sentence unfinished.

"Oh, yes. Tomas informed me about that. He was with you that day, right sir?"

"Yes, he was. He followed me until we reached the Great Gulf. Tomas is a good soldier."

"The Great Gulf? You mean that the Representative might be heading towards Forenham?" questioned the Machamp.

"Maybe. Now get out of my tent!" the Luxray yelled, not seeming to be in the mood to talk.

"Yes, sir. I'm leaving immediately, sir. Have a good day, sir!" The Machamp dashed out of the tent as fast as he could, before Rai could get any angrier.

"Idiot." Murmured the Luxray.

~*~

The night fell and it was time we said goodbye to the Lapras herd. We were on Lyol's back, ready to approach the shore. All the Lapras surrounded their leader and smiled at us. I saw their gentle faces and I felt really sad for having to leave them.

"Goodbye, Representative! Goodbye kids!" the Lapras said and we waved at them as Lyol swam away, heading towards the coast. The Lapras leader was swimming quickly but he tried to make as little sound as possible. Trying to avoid the camp, Lyol left us at the small forest, where there were no tents.

"It seems it's farewell." Told us Lyol.

"Goodbye, Lyol and thanks for everything!" Rien said and the Lapras leader nudged him.

"We had a great time with you!" Delilah smiled and Lyol nudged her too.

"Don't worry about us, Lyol. We promise we'll be careful." Feather said and it was his turn to be nudged from Lyol.

"I'll make it 'till the end, Lyol. You'll be proud of me!" I confidently told him and he looked at me surprised, seeming to wonder if I had heard his conversation. He nudged me though and looked towards the sky.

"I taught you some things about the stars during our voyage." He said with his eyes still gazing at the full of stars night sky. "Can you see Kyogre's constellation? I want you to remember my herd and I when you see it."

"We don't need a constellation to remind us about you. We'll never forget you!" replied Feather and Lyol smiled, eyes glistening from tears that the Lapras didn't allow to fall.

"Oh, and Representative. If I ever told something that hurt you, I apologize. I believe in you with all of my heart. Show them what you've got, Jolty!"

"I will!"

The sea Pokemon turned his back at us with a last smile and swam towards his herd. I felt my eyes filling with tears and I saw tears at my friends' eyes too.

"Oh man! I'll miss that guy!" said Rien while he was sweeping the tears from his face.

"We may see him again someday." Whispered Delilah who made no attempt to hide she was crying.

We stood there until we couldn't see Lyol anymore and we slowly headed towards the forest. The previous feelings of sadness from parting with Lyol were now replaced by fear which clutched our hearts and prevented us from feeling anything else. We entered the forest and used the trees and the bushes to hide ourselves.

Although the tents were quite far away, we couldn't know if a soldier was keeping guard in the forest. Thus, we crawled instead of walking normally and we tried to make as little sound as possible. We managed to cross a lot of the forest without any problems at all but, as the trees began to thin, we heard someone humming.

I put my paw in my mouth to hush a gasp. I looked at Rien, Delilah and Feather with fear. We all crawled behind a bush, keeping our breaths. The humming was getting closer and I began to tremble. A voice in my head was ordering me to run, but I knew that such a reaction would be completely stupid.

Now, we could not only hear the humming, but also footsteps approaching us. We were sure that the Pokemon who approached us would be able to smell us in any minute. Indeed, the humming stopped and the Pokemon froze dead on his tracks. The Pokemon began walking again, but now his footsteps made less noise, indicating that he walked at his tiptoes.

My heart began beating faster and faster and I was sweating. The Pokemon came closer and closer and I was sure that would be our end. I had managed to survive for only two weeks. Although, I couldn't say that I regretted them. I escaped from the tyrant's advisor and a soldier, I met three great children and I crossed the Great Gulf with a herd of Lapras.

The Pokemon was only a few meters away. I could smell him. He was a male, fighting type, a soldier as I could presume. He was probably preparing himself for a fight as he stopped for some seconds and then began walking again but…

"What are you doing here?" barked a familiar voice. Delilah's eyes widened and she bit her lip.

"My father!" she mouthed making our jaws drop. Things were getting even worse.

"I smelled something, sir!" said the soldier who immediately forgot everything about us.

"Really?" Rai told him sarcastically. "Maybe it was me who you smelled?"

"No, sir!" protested the soldier who began smelling the air again.

"Do you really believe that if there was something there, I wouldn't smell it?" the Luxray asked the soldier in a loud voice.

"But-"

"Enough! You have no reason to be here! GO!" he yelled scaring the soldier who rushed to get away as fast as he could.

"Idiot!" the advisor shouted and walked away.

We looked at each other and blinked. We knew that the advisor should have smelled us. We were sure that he should have understood who was hiding behind the bushes as he should have recognized his daughter's smell. However, that fact didn't concern us for long. We decided that crawling wasn't necessary anymore as the forest was coming to its end and we would have no place to hide from then on.

Rien, Delilah and I began leaping and Feather took off and began flying next to us. The last trees of the forest passed next to us in a blur and the hill on which Forenham was built on, towered above us. We kept running on the hill and soon, we heard voices from the camp.

"Over there! On the hill!"

"It's a Jolteon! It must be the Representative!"

"Attack them! Whoever kills or catches the Representative, will be awarded!"

War cries and feet trampling were heard as the whole army began chasing us. We tried to speed up but we were exhausted due to the steepness of the hill. However, we didn't stop running. Several attacks were fired by the soldiers but, fortunately, none of them hit us.

"Feather! Save yourself! You can fly and reach Forenham before the soldiers catch us!" I shouted to my Pidgeotto friend.

"I'm not leaving you!" he yelled as he maneuvered to avoid a flamethrower attack.

My throat was sore and I breathed hard. I would have crumbled to the ground if my legs hadn't become stronger from the swimming in the sea and the three-day-long running back at the Forest. The others seemed to be in the same condition. Even Feather was fatigued by having to fly so close to the ground. The distance between the soldiers and us became smaller and smaller and we had to fight back by attacking them as dodging their attacks had become increasingly difficult.

The only thing that gave me the strength to keep going was the city that stood at the top of the hill. As I tried to concentrate on my destination and forget my exhaustion, I saw several faces appear from the top of the walls. The mouths of the faces opened and fired some wide ranged attacks who hit some soldiers, something that slowed them down. Meanwhile, a few flying pokemon flew out of the city and collided with the army's flying pokemon who had joined our chase and were the biggest threat to us due to their speed.

Seeing the Forenhamians fighting to protect us, we tried even harder to reach the city. Soon, the hill became less steep and we saw the city's gate open and an aged, brown-colored flying Pokemon waiting for us. With a last leap, we entered the city and the gate closed immediately behind us. We hardly believed we were alive…

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**Note: If Rai's reaction seems inexplicable to you (and it really is at this point), it'll be explained much, much, much later on the story. It's not unreasonable though, trust me.**


	4. Chapter 3: A part of you

**The third chapter is here. I was inspired to write about the city of Forenham after visiting a medieval city built on a hill. R&R please!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon but I do own the characters and the plot of this story.**

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**Chapter 3**

**A part of you**

We collapsed to the ground as soon as we felt we were safe. We were in a corridor inside the walls. We could see the sea from two iron bar windows on the left side of the corridor while on the right side stood three doors. We heard the army retreating after we entered the city. The brown-colored flying pokemon was looking at us. He had a yellow horn which split in two and his chest had several black triangles on it. Three keys were hanging from a chain at his neck. He looked even older now that I saw him from up close.

"Welcome to the city of Forenham! I'm Tark, the leader of the city." He introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, Tark!" I said, panting. I stood up and the others did the same as we thought that it probably wasn't very polite to lay on the ground when someone was welcoming us. "I'm Jolty and these are Rien, Feather and Delilah."

"My pleasure. Have you been hurt?" he asked Delilah as he saw her licking her front, right leg.

"No, it's nothing. Just a tiny scratch." She replied.

"Great! Is anyone else hurt?"

"No but we're fatigued. We would like a place to sleep. Anything is fine." I told the Noctowl.

"Of course!" he exclaimed and took a key from the chain. He approached one of the three doors and opened it with the key. "Unfortunately, there are no other rooms in the city. It's nothing special but-"

Tark left his sentence incomplete and inclined his head to the right as he saw us dash into the room and jump on the beds almost screaming from joy. We had one week to sleep at a bed and we were really glad to see one.

"Uh, I'm glad you like it. I'll leave you now, so you can sleep." Tark left the key on a small table and exited our room, mumbling something we couldn't hear. There were four beds in the room so each one picked a bed. Before we could even say goodnight, we had fallen asleep.

~*~

I woke up and jumped off my bed the next morning. I was the first to wake up and I decided that I'd let the others sleep for some more. I yawned and stretched and then went towards a round mirror on the wall. I looked at myself. I saw my yellow spiky fur and my white spiky mane. I also saw the Golen which was half-hidden by my mane. My long ears perked as I heard steps outside the door. Soon a knock was heard which made Delilah and Feather wake up alarmed.

"What? Who is it? Are we being attacked?" Feather asked half-asleep.

"Relax, Feather. We're at Forenham. We're safe." I reassured him. Delilah left a relieved sigh and tried to wake Rien up.

"It's me, Tark." Shouted the Noctowl from outside. "Can I come in?"

"Yes!" I replied and went to help Delilah wake Rien. The door opened and the old Pokemon came in.

"Good morning! I thought that you'd enjoy a trip at the city so I came to wake you up."

"A trip at the city?" asked Rien who had finally woken up. "Great!"

"Follow me then!" Tark exited the room and walked with the funny way flying pokemon walk when they're at the ground. He headed towards a door at the opposite side of the city's gate. He pushed it open and we saw the former-capital for the first time. All the houses were white and the ground was paved with big flat rocks. The streets were narrow and winding. As we were used to the wooden houses and the unpaved roads of the villages, we were impressed by Forenham.

"Why have you paved the ground?" asked Rien. "It's nice but it's a bit hard to walk on."

"I know but, there were a lot of sharp rocks here. It was difficult to walk on them so we paved the hill."

"The houses are made of rocks and are painted white. Why?" I questioned the Noctowl leader.

"It's because of the heat. It's quite early in the morning and it's not too hot but, you'll realize how hot it can be later in the day. The white color reflects the sun rays and the rocks keep the houses cool as well." Tark explained and continued his way with us following him closely.

"It kind of reminds me of my village." I told my friends. "I can see houses which are built higher on the hill and there were houses built higher at the Mist Mountains where my village is located too. I think they do it for safety issues. It's harder to hit many houses at once when they are not on the same level. Then again, you can't build houses on the same level when you build them atop a mountain or a hill."

"Serevir, my village, is located in the Luminous Forest so all the houses were built at a completely flat ground." Told me Feather.

"Here's the main street." Announced Tark and pointed at what I would call a narrow pass, not a main street. The main street was the only straight one I saw that few minutes I had passed in Forenham and the only one with shops as I noticed. The distance between the one side and the other was as big as the wing length of a Salamence but it probably was enough for the residents of the city. Wooden poles were placed horizontally at the upper parts of the street's buildings, creating something like an arch. An ivy plant had curled around them, shading the main street and beautifying it.

That's when the Forenhamians first saw me. The shopkeepers exited their shops to see me while those who were already out to shop, stopped whatever they were doing to turn their heads towards me. I expected to feel uneasy but that never happened. The Forenhamians didn't stare at me like I was an alien. Instead, they smiled at me like they knew me for ages, like I was an old friend of theirs who had gone for a long time and now was back.

We began walking at the main street and soon, I didn't mind the Pokemon who looked at me. It was like no one was staring at me. I was speaking with my friends and listening to what Tark had to say about the city without feeling uncomfortable.

"Oh! Here's something you must really see!" Tark exclaimed and pointed to his left. There we could see a small iron gate. The sea could be seen also, as well as a square with a tiny well all behind that iron gate. The square had no buildings and seemed to excel from the rest of the hill. Tark opened the gate and we walked into the square. By doing so, we noticed something that we hadn't seen before entering the door. On our right stood an ancient temple. It was a small one made of marble with columns supporting its triangular roof.

"Wow!" exclaimed Delilah. "It's difficult to find temples such as this one. They were built before the time the Representatives appeared and are dedicated to the Legendary Pokemon."

"Correct, young lady! This one isn't the greatest but it's quite neat. Come on! Let's get in." said Tark.

The temple consisted of just a square room. The walls were decorated with wall paintings and in the middle of the room stood a small, rock alter. I approached the walls to examine the paintings. I saw Ho-oh, Entei, Raiku and Suicune. I guessed that the yellow circle next to Ho-oh was the sun but, I couldn't understand what some other multicolored lines around the four of them were.

"What does this represent?" I questioned Tark.

"It's Entei's, Raiku's and Suicune's creation. Ho-oh is using his powers to create them. You can see other legends at the walls too. Groudon and Kyogre's fight, Deoxy's arrival to Aesler, Celebi's time travels, Arceus as an egg and many more." He replied and let us examine all the paintings.

As we exited the temple, Tark approached the well. "That's a wishing well. You throw coins in it and make a wish, hoping that the Wishmaker will make it come true. You can make a wish too, though it's always better to make wishes at night, when the stars can be seen and there's a possibility one of them will fall."

I approached the well. "I have no coins but, I don't think that I need them. If Jirachi wants to make a wish come true, she won't need coins." I closed my eyes and wished for peace in Aelser. It was the first thing I thought of and I had to admit I was surprised with my wish. I though realized that I had nothing else to wish for. I was happy with my life. I had a great family that raised me properly and now I had three faithful friends. I was healthy and young so what else would be there to wish for? Even if I wished to stay alive in this journey, my wish would be completely useless. Everyone dies someday and even Jirachi can't make me immortal.

"What did you wish for?" Rien asked me as we returned to the main street.

"She can't tell you! It won't come true if she does!" Delilah scolded him.

"She's right, though I think you already know what it is. I'm sure you have wished the same thing at least once. You wouldn't be following me if you haven't." I told them and winked.

"Now, Representative, I'm about to show you a building which I know you want to see." said Tark and stopped in front of a building which seemed no different to every other building in Forenham.

"Um… What is it?" asked Fether and raised an eyebrow. "What?" he then said as Rien was pushing the Pidgeotto with his elbow while he was pointing somewhere over the building's door. Feather's jaw dropped as he saw what the Buizel was showing him.

"The Golen!" I whispered in awe at the sight of the legendary mark. I had probably imagined it, but I felt a strange warmth at the right side of my torso, at the place where my Golen was. "I don't think there are many building which have this mark on them. It has to somehow be associated with the Representatives."

"Yes, it's the Council. The place where the Representatives used to discuss about important subjects." Declared Tark who was smiling, seeing our reactions.

"Can we get in?" I asked, excitedly.

"But of course!" Tark pushed the door which opened immediately as it wasn't locked. We entered the building and found ourselves in a hall. It was a large room with columns of yellow marble. The parquet floor was shining and was quite slippery. Half of the walls were covered in wood and the other half was painted orange. The ceiling had a wall painting of a sky with white, puffy clouds and a bright sun. There were some wooden chairs and benches here and there in the room and a few paintings on the walls. The room was quite dark as the only light sources were two stained-glass windows, high on the right and left walls.

"Here's where the Pokemon who wanted to meet the Representatives waited. Not bad, eh?" Tark seemed amused with the way we looked around us. "Oh, but I see that you haven't noticed the oaken door which leads to the main room, yet."

We looked at the northern wall of the room were a huge, arched door stood. As we went closer to it, we noticed its incredible carvings. Different kinds of Pokemon were carved, forming a circle around a propeller-like thing, the Golen. The carvings were so lively we thought they were moving.

"On to the main room, now." Said Tark after deciding we were amazed enough. He grabbed the golden doorknob with his wing and opened the door.

"Wow!" we cried in concert when we saw what was hiding behind the door: A room as huge as the hall but much more bright. Too bright we could say. The western side had only three, white marble columns. One on the left, one in the middle and one on the right. The gaps between them were where two huge windows stood. An Ivy plant like the one at the main street had curled around the columns. The floor was from white marble too and was as slippery as the parquet floor of the hall. The walls were made of the same white marble as the floor and I could see a really old map of Aesler hung at one of them. The only furniture in the room were four bookcases with old books at their shelves, a round wooden table in the middle of the room and seventeen wooden chairs around it. The chairs were covered with a yellow-colored silk cover which had a Golen with a different colored "G" at each of the seventeen covers.

"Jolty, Rien, Delilah, Feather… you're the first Pokemon who don't live in Forenham and get to see this room for three whole centuries." Smiled Tark. "Of course you can make yourself at home, Representative. After all, this city and this building is a part of you."


	5. Chapter 4: In the restaurant

**This is a chapter with not much action which though introduces a couple of characters and gives us some information. I hope you'll like it and as always, revies are welcome.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon but I do own the characters and the plot of this story.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**In the restaurant**

As we were going to eat at the city's restaurant, Tark's words were echoing in my mind. I was left with an inheritance far bigger than I had ever imagined. I was the continuer of a legend. The cities and buildings they built, the laws they made, their heroic deeds, their mistakes, everything the previous Representatives had done, had passed to me. I felt like the Golen had become as heavy as a Groudon. I was carrying with me Aesler's past and probably Aesler's future. I was maybe the only person who could do something to help the country and I was grateful that I was important to the Pokemon but, the weight of my duty scared me.

"Here we are!" said Tark, pulling me out of my thoughts. I saw a small restaurant with a great view of the sea. The restaurant had a small garden where stood a few tables but Tark went inside so we followed him. There were some tables inside the restaurant too and I could see the door that led to the cuisine. The Noctowl kept going towards the balcony though which stood right above the sea and its waves that crashed on the rocks below. The balcony had many more tables than the inside and the garden of the restaurant and a lot of customers were sitting at them probably because everyone prefered the view from here. I noticed that most of them were reading a newspaper. I wondered why the Forenhamians were reading "The Force", the only newspaper in the country which happened to be published by the tyrant. It was known that "The Force" was full of lies that served the tyrant's plans so nobody wanted to read it. To my surprise, though, I realized that the newspaper the Forenhamians were reading wasn't "The Force". It was a newspaper called "The Resistance" and was probably Forenham's newspaper. After all, Forenham wasn't under the tyrant's control and didn't have to abide by the law that forbid anyone to publish a newspaper.

Tark sat at a table with five seats and called a waiter. He ordered food just for Rien, Delilah, Feather and I as he said that he wasn't hungry. Meanwhile, a male Magmar approached our table. He was a red and yellow, two-legged creature. He had a beak like that of a duck, a black collar around his neck and two black bracelets at his legs. Four red spikes exceeded from his back and the tip of his tail was actually a flame.

"Hey, Tark! I see that you brought the Representative of Hope with you! Hi, Jolty! I'm Ben!" he smiled at me. "Who are your friends?"

"Feather, Delilah and Rien. Our pleasure!" replied Rien.

"Ben is the publisher of "The Resistance", it's the newspaper we, Forenhamians, read." Said Tark while Ben was grabbing a seat to join us.

"But that's really dangerous! The sentence for those who publish any other newspaper except for "The Force" is death!" commented Delilah, eyes widened.

"We're already sentenced to death, Delilah." Replied Ben with a smile. "If the army manages to invade the city, none of us will stay alive."

Silence followed that statement and Feather decided to change the subject. "That means that you have a printing office?" Feather asked, not trying to hide his excitement. "Wow!" he then exclaimed as the Magmar nodded. "Every printing office was destructed after the Jicicles rose in power. The only one that exists is the printing office at the tyrant's castle."

Tark laughed. "Well, there's another one, youngster, and that's only the beginning. There are many other things that were destroyed in the rest of the country but still exist in Forenham. There are schools, theaters and stadiums in the city. There's a small problem with the stadium, though. It's nothing like what a true stadium looks like. It's just a tiny square in the middle of the city. There used to be a big one outside Forenham but the tyrant destroyed it as well."

"Really, why did the tyrant prohibit all these things? No wonder why the Pokemon hate him. He has deprived us of everything that gave us happiness. Isn't he afraid that the Pokemon might rebel to get them back?" I asked Tark.

"Nice question, Representative, but a naïve one too." I looked at the Noctowl puzzled. "The Pokemon might be happier if their lives didn't change after the Jicicles became rulers of the country but, the tyrant's are afraid of having too many Pokemon concentrated in one place. The schools, the theaters, the stadiums were places where the Pokemon forgot every differences they had and united.

"The Jicicles were and are afraid of that union. They thought that the Pokemon might one day decide to rebel against them and what would be a better place to do that than the aforementioned ones? Imagine a bunch of strong, young Pokemon forming an army. Imagine a performance talking about a rebellion. Imagine the thousands of Pokemon in a stadium suddenly attacking any soldiers that could be around. The tyrant could of course check the content of the performances and make sure no things that could threaten him are teached at schools but, he knew that the Pokemon could easily fool him and do whatever they wanted.

"As for the newspapers, well, as you can understand, he couldn't let the Pokemon express their thoughts freely. You may not know it but, the tyrant also checks which books get published. He has managed to create a country full of Pokemon that know not what a happy life is and have no free will. It's a country full of servants -unhappy servants, but servants anyway. After all, he's a tyrant, not a Representative. He rules to have power and money, not to help his country and Pokemon."

_'But he would also have power and money if he ruled with justice. Why would someone choose to be evil than to be good?'_ I wondered but I never asked aloud, afraid that my question would be considered naïve again.

"We'd like to hear some things about the history of Forenham." Said Rien and Feather, Delilah and I nodded. The former-capital was fighting against the army for three centuries. We were wondering how they managed to survive for all these years.

"Forenham used to be the former-capital as you already know." Told us Ben. "The Representatives were living here and they held meetings at the "Council" though they were leaving for journeys around Aesler so that they could make sure everything was alright. Forenham is the city of the Representatives and that's why we're fighting with all our might against the tyrant. We prefer to die rather than be ruled by anyone else except for a Representative.

"When the tyrant's army conquered one city after another, it couldn't conquer ours. They led a siege on us hoping that, when our supplies ended, we'd surrender but, they didn't know our little secret." Tark said with a grin.

"Actually, our secret is every city's in Aesler secret." Continued Ben. " In almost every city, there are catacombs that can lead you outside of the city safely so that one won't have to pass from the gates. These underground passages were created by the Representatives so that, in times of war, the inhabitants of a city could escape would the enemies invade the city. The catacombs' entrance and exit are well hidden and only a few know about them.

"That's how we survived for these three hundred years. Some Forenhamians used the catacombs to exit the city and bring us food and water. The tyrant's army usually kept us besieged for about a year before the soldiers got tired and had to stop in order to resupply and rest. That bought us enough time to fix the damages in the city and fully supply ourselves. That happened constantly and the army never managed to find a way to invade the city or stop us from resupplying. Recently however, a soldier once caught some Forenhamians outside the city and tried to make them confess how they managed to exit the city without being caught by the soldiers who guarded the gate. Although they didn't tell him about the catacombs, he managed to make them reveal where the exit was.

"Since then, there are soldiers guarding the exit and we can no longer bring supplies to the city. We fear that one day, the soldiers will discover how to enter the catacombs and we'll be doomed, not to mention that we'll slowly die fo starvation. That's why Forenham is about to fall. Our faith that the Representatives would return, the sole reason we never stopped fighting, was beginning to abandon us. We were desperate." Ben's voice was so low that we could merely hear him. "You're here now, though, and we're determined to finally beat the tyrant's army that has camped outside our city for all this time." Ben beamed at me.

I was ready to begin wondering again what was so special about my presence that could give hope to everyone when the waiter came with some delicious dishes. My friends and I were more than delighted to see them. The only food we ate when we were at the sea was fish and we had started having an appetite for something else. We were ready to devour the delicious foods that the chef had made for us when Delilah stopped us.

"What happened?" questioned Tark when he saw Delilah who pushed our paws away from the food.

"What you do isn't right." She told Tark frustrated. The old leader inclined his head to the left. "You say you're starving and you're giving us food from the few that has probably left. What do you think we are, some spoiled brats that think so high of themselves they would want to eat the food of a starving city?" Delilah shouted. The patrons had their heads turned to us and watched the scene with interest. "We're not like the tyrant! We won't eat your food! Do you really believe that we haven't noticed how thin and weak you Forenhamians are? Soon enough your bones will exceed from your skin. You think that we haven't noticed that you didn't order something to eat so as there would be more food for us? Can't you understand that you're offending us with your behavior?"

The Noctowl was staring at Delilah wide eyed. As a leader, he probably had never heard anyone yell at him. Yelling at a leader who had welcomed and taken care of you was at least rude. However, the Shinx's words made me realize something that, to be honest, I hadn't noticed before. The Forenhamians were indeed too skinny and seemed to not have eaten days now. The food that was standing in front of us could be the last supplies of the city. I blushed and bent my head. Feather and Rien had bent their heads too.

"We're really sorry…" I murmured.

"What were we ready to do? Thanks for telling us, Delilah." Feather whispered to her.

"What's happening here?" a male, snail like, fire type Pokemon approached us. His shell was made of rock and a small flame escaped from a crack at the rock. His body seemed to be made of boiling lava. He looked terribly old; older than any Pokemon I had ever seen.

"The children here just showed us how considerate they are, Corg." Said Ben who was now smiling at us warmly.

"Not all of us. Just Delilah." Rien, whose head was still bent, corrected the Magmar. The aged Magcargo turned towards the Shinx, examining carefully.

"You remind me of someone…" he muttered. "Delilah, eh? You know, a female Luxray used to live here, in Forenham. She was a sensitive Pokemon and very beautiful. Just like you." Delilah looked at him surprised. "If I'm not mistaken, her name was… Lorelai."

"Huh! You're right!" exclaimed Tark. "Delilah looks so much like her."

"W-Wait a minute. L-Lorelai was my mother's name." stammered Delilah. Immediately the three Pokemon beamed at her.

"Dear Arceous! It's Lorelai's daughter!" cried Ben. "I was a kid when Lorelai first danced and singed in a feast. She was great!"

"She was really loved here in Forenham," Said Corg. "but she decided to leave the city. She said that she wanted to see how the world looked like. What a dreadful destiny awaited her, though. She married that monster, Advisor Rai. A few years later she died."

Delilah seemed to feel a bit uneasy. Hearing someone calling her father a monster and be reminded that her mother was dead should be really hard for Delilah. Seeing Delilah unhappy, Feather glared at the Magcargo with such anger that the fire type backslided. Tark noticed that and changed the subject to prevent a possible argument.

"Cargo here is the oldest resident of Forenham. He's even older than I am."

"Yes, and he has participated in a lot of battles with the tyrant's army when he was younger." Added Ben.

"Ah! Nice times!" smiled Corg. "Would you like to hear about the battle of March's 4th? When I was only eighteen years old?"

My friends and I didn't notice Tark and Ben who shook their heads behind Corg's back and we said that we'd love to.

"Wonderful! Listen now. It was a sunny morning and I had just woken up…"

~*~

The sun was setting by the time the Magcargo finished his story. During his narration, we were trying to stay awake while supressing our yawns. The restaurant had emptied and our bellies were rumbling. We had refused to eat even a crumble from the food we had been brought.

"That's how we won the battle and how I was given my first medal. Oh, It's already sunset! I didn't realize how fast the hours passed! Well, children, it was my pleasure to meet you!" Corg smiled.

"We can't say the same thing." Muttered Rien and Delilah, Feather and I began giggling.

"What did you say, youngster?"

"It was our pleasure too!" said Rien loudly, making us giggle even more.

The Magcargo left with a smile and Ben stood up, yawning and stretching. "Well, guys, I enjoyed your company but there's a newspaper which must get printed. See ya tomorrow!"

We said goodye to the Magmar and, when he left, Tark spoke. "Representative, I must tell you something." his expression was serious. "Forenham will probably get attacked."

We gasped. "What?"

"Now that the army knows that you're in the city, there's no doubt that they'll attack us. You and your friends must stay safe, Representative. Please." He added when he saw I was ready to protest. I gritted my teeth and muttered "okay".

"Good. Now go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a difficult day."

* * *


	6. Chapter 5: The fight against the army

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon but I do own the characters and plot of this story.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**The fight against the army**

Loud bangs and screams woke me up. Being inside the walls, I could understand that a battle had begun and hear everything clearly. My friends soon woke up too and we rushed to the city. The Forenhamians had climbed on the walls and were attacking the army while the flying Pokemon were fighting at the sky above us. A thunder attack hit a house next to us but it didn't receive as much damage as it was made of rocks.

"Representative! What are you doing here? It's dangerous!" Tark who was also fighting yelled at us. Some meteors fell from the sky, causing immense damage to the walls and a few houses while they almost hit the four of us. "Find shelter for Arceous's sake!" Tark yelled outraged and we rushed towards the center of the city.

Forenham didn't look like the pleasant place it was yesterday. Most of the neat houses were destroyed and the friendly citizens weren't strolling at the roads. The sounds of the battle were scaring me and I looked around me all the time as I was afraid that an attack would hit me. At a time like that, I couldn't but admire the Forenhamians. They had probably battled a thousand times against the army, they should have been scared for their lives countless times but still, they kept fighting without fear and they even rebuild their city after each battle.

"It's horrible!" said Delilah. "Such a beautiful city being destroyed. Such nice Pokemon… being killed." She whispered.

I gritted my teeth. I thought that Delilah's mother could have gotten killed when she lived in Forenham and still, she married the Pokemon who was partly responsible for these battles that are destroying the city. I felt an urge to do something to stop the fight. I didn't want Forenham to be destroyed and of course, I didn't want any of its inhabitants to be killed. I was a Representative. I _had_ to do something. After all, it was my duty. I was there to protect the country.

"We must help." I said, surprising my friends.

"How?" Feather asked me.

"I don't know but, I'll think of something."

"Think somewhere else. It's dangerous here!" Rien told me and barely avoided a falling rock. An attack had hit the top of the hill that towered over the city, causing some of the rocks to fall. We turned on a corner and we found ourselves in front of the Council. All the kids of the town were sitting at the stairs that guided to the Council's entrance.

"Come here, Representative! The Council never gets hit by the attacks. It seems that the power of the Representatives is protecting the building." A kid called to me. She was a dark purple Pokemon, with no hands and leaves coming out of her head. We approached the children and sat at the Council's stairs too.

I felt useless. I wondered how powerful the previous Representatives were. Forenham had to survive battles for three hundred years. The buildings were destroyed and the Forenhamians had to rebuild their houses and their shops but, the Council, the place where the Representatives used to pass a big part of their day, remained intact. These Pokemon seemed to have some kind of magic power. They were considered the guardians of the country and that's exactly what they did: they protected. Even now that they were dead, they kept protecting the Pokemon of Aesler. I couldn't protect anyone. Not even myself. Others protected me. That battle had begun because I was inside these walls and all these Pokemon were fighting so that I could stay alive.

"We have to do something…" I murmured and started thinking hard to find a plan. "If we could find a way to confuse and divide the army…" I kept murmuring. Then a plan formed into my mind, though it was so scary that I couldn't even think about it. However, it seemed to be the only solution.

"I think I have an idea, guys." I told the others, voice shaking.

"Better be good." Said Rien.

"If we drew the army's attention to something else…"

"What are you planning?" asked me Delilah and narrowed her eyes.

"I'm just saying, if the army saw me, the soldiers would try to catch me and-"

"Are you nuts? You'll kill yourself!" protested Feather.

"But I must help somehow! Do you want Forenham to be eliminated? The Forenhamians don't look like they can win the battle. I'm the only one who can help them!"

Feather sighed. "Then at least let us help you."

"It's not necessary. I'll just get out so that the army sees me, then I'll let them chase me a bit and I'll return to the city. That must be enough for the Forenhamians to cause a lot of damage to the army."

"And how are you going to get out of the city?" Delilah questioned me.

I thought for some seconds. "The catacombs!" I exclaimed.

"Aren't there soldiers guarding them? Even when there's a battle, there should be some guards making sure that no Forenhamians go out to bring supplies." Rien pointed out.

"Then I must find a way to pass without been seen."

"You're endangering the city that way." Feather told me. "If they see you, they won't only kill you, but they'll probably find the catacombs' exit."

"It's the only way to save Forenham. Even if the city doesn't fall today, it soon will. You saw the Forenhamians, their starving and no matter how valiantly they fight, the odds are against them." I solemnly told my friends.

Rien sighed. "We'll come with you. That way we can fight the guards if they notice us."

I nodded. "Um… Representative?" the Oddish addressed me. "The catacombs entrance is here, in the Council. You'll find it behind the second bookcase on the right."

"Thank you very much!" I smiled at the girl and rushed into the Council with my friends following me. We dashed through the hall without even glancing around us and we entered the council room. We approached the second bookcase on the right and we started pushing it. The heavy furniture began moving slowly and soon, a wooden door appeared. We opened the door and behind it, we saw a long rocky corridor which seemed to go underground.

We started running. The corridor was pretty straightforward with no crossings. We couldn't hear the sounds of the battle from inside the catacombs. It didn't take us long before we saw another door. We stopped running immediately and began tiptoeing. Even if the guards were close enough, I doubted that they would hear a thing but, we had to be extra careful.

When we reached the door we stopped to catch our breath and looked at each other. "Okay, who'll do it?" asked Rien.

There was a small pause. "I- I'll do it." I stammered. With my paws shaking I grabbed the doorknob and gently opened the door. Although quite old, the door didn't make any sound. I opened it only slightly so that I could see outside. I saw golden sand covering a quite big area. I also saw the sea, and grass starting to appear where the sand ended. No soldiers at all.

"I don't see anyone." I whispered. "But I'm afraid to get out. They could be anywhere."

"Alright. It's time to show some guts!" said Delilah.

"You talk to the wrong person, but you're right." I replied. I took a deep breath and stepped outside the corridor. Nothing happened. Rien, Delilah and Feather stepped outside too.

"There's nothing here!" said Feather with a wide, relived smile.

We closed the door behind us. I had begun to wonder how none of the soldiers had found the door but as I looked behind, I realized why. There was a rock next to the door which probably served the purpose of hiding the door. I approached the rock and I noticed a mechanism. It probably had to do with the doorknob. When someone wanted to get out, the rock was removed from in front the door. There should also be a way to put the rock back. I groped the rocks surface and I found a tiny button which one wouldn't notice if they didn't know it was there. I pushed it and the rock seemed to magically slide in front of the door, fitting perfectly with the environment. Now, no one could imagine that there was a door behind the rock.

"Wow! Talk about super-technology here!" exclaimed Rien in awe.

"The rock's mechanism is even well-hidden now that the rock is back on its place. I would really like to know how they managed to make this thing." Said Feather.

We crossed the sand and we reached the grassy area. Forenham's hill was towering above us, grassy plains lied all around and I could see the first trees of the tiny forest close to the city.

We were nervously looking around us as we were walking towards the army's camp. "There are no soldiers here, it seems." Said Delilah.

"That's what you think?" A feminine voice cackled and a Cacturne landed in front of us, probably jumping out of her hiding place. She was a tall, two-legged, green creature with deep green, diamond-shaped spikes on her body. On her head stood a deep-green, triangular hat and she had several black holes for a mouth.

I let out a yelp and backslided a bit. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? It must be the Representative and her companions, huh! Isn't that your famous mark, kiddo?" she grinned evilly and I instinctively turned to hid my right side from her sight.

"What do we do, now?" Rien asked me, teeth barred.

"We'll try to run away. After all, the plan was to let the army chase us. One more soldier won't be a problem." I replied in a low voice so that the grass-type Pokemon couldn't hear me.

"What are four children doing out here now? Were you trying to escape?"

"How dare you!" Feather shouted and his wings flapped angrily. He seemed ready to take off and begin a fight, but he knew that such a reaction would be stupid.

"Oh, I'm sorry for hurting your pride!" she ironically said and, with no warning at all, she threw herself forward, using her Needle Arm attack. We managed to avoid it attack but, to do so, we had to split up.

I Quick Attacked her and Delilah Bit her. Small stars hit the Cacturne as Rien had used his Swift attack and a Gust sent by Feather made the most damage. However, the Cacturne didn't seem to have been hurt much from our attacks. Instead, she laughed and said: "Is that all you can do?" Dark energy formed in the hands of the Cacturne who was ready to use a Payback attack.

"Run!" I yelled at my friends and we began running towards the army's camp.

"Have you lost your mind? Don't you know what's there?" the Cacturne asked and released the attack towards us. The attack hit Rien's tail.

"Are you okay?" Delilah asked him.

"Don't worry! It hit my tail. It just hurts a bit." He replied wincing.

I began charging. I felt the air's electricity combine with mine. I let it surround me and then sent it towards the Cacturne. The attack had found its target but it wasn't very effective. It slowed down the grass-type, though. Soon enough, we saw the tyrant's army which was attacking the city. Some of the soldiers were trying to break the gate while others tried to climb on the walls. The Forenhamians tried to throw them down while they had to defend from the attacks the soldiers fired at them and stop those who tried to break the gate. A flying Pokemon fell from the sky next to us and another one was diving towards it to finish it off. I looked away from the sight disgusted and shocked, though wherever I looked, I saw similar scenes.

The soldiers had begun to notice us and the Cacturne who was still following us, helped alerting them by yelling that we were there. The soldiers paused for some seconds, unable to decide whether they should begin chasing me or continue attacking Forenham. Finally, they decided that killing me was their first priority so they began firing their attacks to us. We turned towards the forest which could provide us some shelter while we were trying to avoid the attacks.

~*~

Tark was sweeping the sweat from his forehead as he yelled some orders to the Forenhamians. He seemed concerned about the Representative's safety. If anything happened to her, three hundred years of resistance would be wasted.

"Tark! Look over there!" a Forenhamian hollered. Tark flew to the top of the walls and looked down. He almost lost his balance when he saw four familiar Pokemon trying to escape the whole army. He took off and flew over the Forenhamians who were all standing on the bulwark, not bothering to try to protect himself. He knew he wouldn't be hit by an attack as the soldiers had forgotten everything about the city and had focused in catching the Representative.

"It's our chance to beat the army! Use your most powerful attacks now that they have split up and they don't pay attention! Let's save the Representative!"

Multicolored flashes were shot at the army from the Forenhamians, more violently than any other time. Tark saw many soldiers falling down dead as they had turned their backs at the city. The Forenhamians kept attacking with all their might, managing to pull off the most effective attack of the last few years. Some of the soldiers had gone back to attacking the city but they were easily defeated by the now renewed force of the Forenhamians. The Pokemon of the city, at the thought that their beloved Representative was in danger, seemed to regain their power and did their best to save the Jolteon.

The four Pokemon had entered the forest and Tark couldn't see them anymore. He had begun to worry and he decided to fly towards the forest. He called two more flying Pokemon to help him. He was an old Pokemon after all and he wasn't sure if he would be of any help if he went alone.

~*~

We had a small advantage in the forest as we were small and could slalom between the trees easily while most of the soldiers were huge and sluggish since that kind of Pokemon were needed in a siege, not the agile ones. However, we were afraid of the fire type attacks that could burn the entire forest down and the four of us with it. Delilah was hit at the leg badly and we had to carry her in spite of her protests.

Thankfully we weren't exhausted like the first time the army was chasing us as the ground was now flat. We were all bruised and scratched and our wounds hurt us a lot, though. The soldiers were attacking us with all their might as they seemed determined to catch us.

As I was turning around to avoid an attack, a blue-colored sphere of energy was thrown towards me. The sphere hit me and I felt so much pain that I couldn't even scream. I was knocked aside and the last thing I remember is Delilah's body falling on me, Rien's hands making an attempt to lift both me and Delilah, and Feather's talons grabbing my leg.


	7. Chapter 6: The feast

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon but I do own the characters and plot of this story.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**The feast**

I opened my eyes slowly. I was lying on a bed, my friends and Tark sitting around me. I was in the room inside the walls.

"What happened?" I asked as I stood up and stretched.

"You got hit by an Aura Sphere and fainted. Rien and Feather tried to lift you and your wounded friend here but were unable to. Fortunately, two flying Forenhamians and I were coming to rescue you." replied Tark. "We brought you here and gave you some berry juice to strengthen you."

"And the army?" I questioned the old Noctowl.

"We won." Tark calmly replied with a wide smile.

"Really?!"

"Yes! Your plan worked!" Rien enthusiastically exclaimed. I looked at Tark alarmed. I didn't know how he would act hearing that I put myself in danger on purpose.

"Don't worry. Your friends told me everything, but I have to tell you that what you did was foolish!" his voice was solemn but not strict. "You have to understand you must stay alive! The country was waiting for you for a really long time. The Pokemon can't stand loosing another Representative."

"I couldn't just sit there and do nothing!" I protested. "You wouldn't survive the battle and you know it! I'm a Representative and it's my duty to protect the Pokemon of this country, even if that means putting my life in danger."

"Brave and noble words of a true Representative." approved Tark. "However, you're too young and too important to endanger your life. Now," Tark began heading towards the door, "there is a lot to do. When you feel strong enough, come to the city." Tark left the room.

My friends jumped on my bed. "Can you believe the Forenhamians won?" Delilah excitedly asked me.

"And it was because of us!" added Feather. "All they needed was some distraction."

"Yeah! Though, I don't think it was just that. Seeing Jolty in danger must have given them the strength to fight. They had to beat the soldiers so that we could get away." Rien pointed out.

"Why did Tark say that there are a lot to do?" I asked to change the subject. I felt uncomfortable when others talked about me; even when these others were my friends.

"I think there will be a feast tonight." Replied Delilah. "It's the first day after three centuries that Forenham won for real."

"Now that I think of it, Forenham is the only completely free place in Aesler. We can walk on ground which is not controlled by the tyrant!" noticed Feather.

"Then we must enjoy it! Let's go and celebrate, if of course you have rested enough." Rien told me.

"I'm fine!" I replied happily and jumped off the bed.

~*~

The night had fallen at Forenham. The darkness would have made the destroyed buildings look creepy if the Forenhamians hadn't put string lights everywhere. Because of the string lights most of the stars had faded, leaving only the brighter ones alone at the sky. No Forenhamians were walking at the streets as they had probably all gone to the feast. We went to the square with the well and the temple and we found tables put in a circle and all the citizens sitting -others at chairs and others at the floor according to their height- around them.

"Hey, Representative!" Tark called me. He waved at us from one side of the table and pointed at four empty chairs next to him. We went to sit there. "How do you feel?" he asked the four of us worriedly.

"We're okay! Just a bit exhausted." Replied Feather. A rumble was heard.

"And a bit hungry!" said a blushed Rien. We laughed and Rien blushed even more.

"Don't worry! We have gathered so much food that it will last for three more centuries of besiegement!" smiled Tark. Indeed. Not long after Tark had spoken, the cooks began bringing hundreds of plates, full of food. There where both vegetables and meat as there were all kinds of Pokemon in Forenham.

Tark grabbed his glass with his wing and raised it. "Forenhamians!" he addressed the Pokemon who stopped what they were doing immediately and looked at him. "Today is a big day. We fought against the tyrant's army for three hundred years. Many lives were lost during these battles and we saw our beloved city being destroyed continuously. However, no Forenhamian ever complained and none lost their faith in the Representatives. Finally, it all pays off. A Representative is not only here safe, but she's here after our success in beating the army, thanks to these four kids. To the Representative of Hope and her partners!" he drank from the glass and the Forenhamians repeated his words and drank from their glasses too. "Let the feast begin!" Tark exclaimed and the Forenhamians seemed glad to hear that declaration.

I was amused at how much Forenhamians could eat. Of course, they had starved while they had to fight hard so it wasn't a surprise that they ate such big amounts of food. They ate heartily and were truly enjoying it. I saw happy faces everywhere and when the Forenhamians noticed that I was looking towards them, smiled to me or inclined their heads like they were thanking me. I could understand that these reactions came straight from their hearts.

"Representative." Tark addressed me. I turned my head towards him. "I must tell you some things. You remember that I told you not to do anything foolish again. No! Let me talk!" he raised his wing when he saw me ready to protest.

"Your action to aid the city was really admirable but, such noble acts have lost their worth nowadays."

I raised my brows surprised.

"The ages when the brave and the kind ones were admired have passed, Representative. Now, bravery, kindness, compassion, justice and other similar virtues, are synonymous with foolishness." I opened my mouth to speak but Tark raised his wing once more.

"I don't like what I'm saying but I'm afraid that it's the truth. The Pokemon of Aesler have lost their old selves. If a battle is certainly lost and you keep fighting, don't expect your army to come and aid you. They'll probably retreat and try to save their lives. If you excuse someone who committed a crime, don't expect them to feel grateful and become honest. They'll probably commit a crime once more.

"It's not that they're bad Pokemon. The conditions have made them like that. The tyrant won't reward someone because they did something noble. Instead, it's more probable to reward an assassin who killed someone he didn't like than, let's say, someone who saved a Pokemon from certain death. The Pokemon are poor and tormented. They would do anything for a crumble of bread, even if that's against the law, even if they have to go with the tyrant's side.

"That's why we need you, Jolty. We need a person who will bring justice back. We need someone kind and you're a kind Pokemon. However, you can't rule when you're dead, right? You have to stay alive so that you can help the Pokemon of Aesler become like they used to be..." he paused. "Now," he said, his expression changing completely with the change of subject, "I have to bring the "Wreath of Honor"." Tark left the table, leaving me concerned.

I appreciated his kind words and understood what he said about how the Pokemon had become corrupted. However, I thought that he wasn't completely right. A part of me wanted to do what he said: stay safe and not do other brave things but, another part told me to do what was right and what I had to do as a Representative. How could I do nothing when I knew that I could help? How could I think about my safety, the safety of a single Pokemon, when I could save hundreds of other? That part, which probably was my conscience, seemed to be stronger than the other, coward part. It was instructing me to be brave and put the others before myself when I had to. Both parts seemed to be right but, which one should I follow?

"Hey guys! Do you enjoy the food?" said a voice. We turned around and saw Ben who came and sat at Tark's empty chair.

"It's delicious!" said Delilah.

"Our cooks did their best!" the Magmar smiled. "Oh and, I wanted to personally thank the four of you for what you did."

"Nah! Don't thank us! Thank Jolty. It was her idea, we just helped." replied Feather.

"I couldn't have made it without you." I solemnly told him. "I wouldn't have been able to escape that easily from the soldiers."

"Jolty's right. You must thank Rien and Feather too! Just don't thank me. I was the one who slowed them down." Delilah said sadly.

"Don't say rubbish, Delilah! We're a team! We need every member to survive!" I told her with a smile and she smiled back.

"So, how did you know where the catacombs' entrance was?" Ben asked curiously.

"The kids of the city told us. Now that I think of it, we must thank them too! Oh, and before I forget, that mechanism at the exit of the catacombs is brilliant!" exclaimed Rien.

"Well, as for the mechanism it comes from a country far away from Aesler. When the trade between Aesler and other places was flourishing, we used to trade many things with different countries. These mechanisms are indeed a great thing. When the merchants brought them in Aesler, the Representatives decided that such a thing had to be used for something important.

"So, they created the catacombs and put the mechanisms at their exits. Also, they prohibited the use of these mechanisms to everyone here in Aesler. That may not sound right but, it was a very wise decision. The Pokemon slowly forgot everything about them and only the leaders were aware of their existence. The tyrant, his soldiers and everyone who could betray the existence of the catacombs, cannot use them. That keeps the cities like Forenham safe. If a city was to be destroyed by an enemy army, its citizens would be able to escape without the soldiers noticing them."

"I see." Said Rien. Suddenly, silence fell among the Forenhamians who turned their gazes towards the middle of the circle the tables created. Tark was standing there with a wreath in his beak.

"Today, our city was left with fewer citizens than before. As in every battle, there were some Pokemon who got killed. You have seen countless wreaths like this one during your lives. They're as many as our battles in numbers. They're made to honor those who died for Forenham so we gave them the name "Wreaths of Honor". This wreath shall be put at the temple and stay there until it withers. Let's pause for a moment of silence."

_'With all that celebration, I forgot there are also those who didn't make it.'_ I thought. _'I feel ashamed for not having thought about them. They were so unlucky! If they were alive, they would finally see their city free, without an entire army surrounding it'._

"Now, I will announce their names, though all of us know who are missing from today's feast. After all, our city isn't very big and has a few citizens so we can all notice their absence." Tark began announcing the names of the Pokemon. "We wish that you rest in peace." he said when he finished announcing the names. "Now, let's not let sadness ruin this joyful day. I'm sure that these Pokemon wouldn't want something like that to happen. Our band will play and whoever wants can dance."

Ben stood up to let Tark sit once the Noctowl approached our table. "No, Ben it's not necessary! I'll sit somewhere else." Tark told the Magmar who sat down once more.

The band began playing a happy and quick song and many Forenhamians left their seats and went inside the circle to dance. I didn't recognize the song so I thought that it was a local song.

"Hey, Delilah! You're Lorelai's daughter right? Why don't you dance a bit? Lorelai was a great dancer!" told her Ben.

"Um…" the Shinx said, seeming embarassed.

"Come on!" we encouraged her and a faint smile appeared at her blushed face.

"Okay!" she said and slowly went in the circle seeming a bit out of place at first but she then began dancing. She didn't seem to know the steps of the dance but she was dancing so well that the steps were completely unnecessary.

"She's pretty good!" admired Rien.

"That's something I would never do!" I said.

"Why? You aren't good at dancing?" Feather asked me.

"I don't know if I'm good. I just know that I would be really embarrassed if I had to dance in front of all these Pokemon." I replied smiling.

Soon, the Forenhamians had noticed Delilah's dancing and slowly stopped dancing to watch the Shinx. Delilah seemed to have gotten used to the song's rhythm and was tapping her legs and swirling around with extreme elegance. When the song ended, the Forenhamians began clapping enthusiastically. Delilah was blinking and looking all around her as she seemed to not have noticed that the other dancers had removed from the circle and all eyes were looking at her.

She returned to her seat with a big smile and two slightly pink cheeks as we were clapping and shouting louder than everyone. The band began playing another song and the Pokemon returned at the circle. Nothing could ruin the joy of the Forenhamians that night, neither the fact that they had to once more rebuild their houses nor the fact that some had lost loved ones. An important part of my journey had come to its end. However, the most difficult part was about to come. I had to continue journeying around Aesler. My success in escaping the army twice and helping the city of Forenham made me have confidence in myself, though. Alone or with the help of others, I would do my best for the Pokemon of this country because it seemed like I could really be of some help after all!

* * *


	8. Chapter 7: The city in the forest

**It's been a long time since I posted a chapter but I was busy with exams. I'm sorry for the lateness!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon but I do own the characters and plot of this story.**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**The city in the forest**

Tark had followed us until the gate of Forenham. It was the next morning after the feast and we were about to leave the former-capital. Tark wanted to give us some information so he had come with us.

"I suggest that you visit Litvar. Aesler's biggest library is situated there and you can meet Synp, the leader of the city. He's a good friend of mine and he may give you some advice." Told me Tark.

"We don't have another plan so I guess we'll do what you say." I replied lifting my shoulders. "What are you, Forenhamians, going to do?"

"We'll prepare for the return of the army." Tark said and his expression darkened.

"What? But you just beat the army and we're leaving the city! Why would the tyrant send his soldiers again?" asked Rien.

"We're a threat. We were and we'll always be. The tyrant can't risk letting us begin a rebellion so he'll try to conquer us." the Noctowl explained.

"Showing how ignorant he is!" interrupted Ben who suddenly appeared, pulling a tiny, wooden wagon behind him. A blanket was hiding the wagon's content.

"What's that?" asked Feather staring at the wagon with interest.

"This is my dream!" announced Ben and revealed to us the content of the wagon.

"I still can't understand what's inside the wagon." Feather insisted. Inside stood something that looked like a wooden machine. Stamps and papers were also in the wagon.

"Well," the Magmar began, "this is our printing office." he blushed and scratched his head nervously.

"That's your so called printing office?" Delilah raised a brow in disbelief.

"What did you expect? We were besieged you know! We couldn't do much! It's a miracle that we managed to make such a thing!" Protested Ben.

"Ben is leaving the city too. He wants the Pokemon in Aesler to learn the truth about the condition of the land. His dream always was to see "The Resistance" be read by everyone in the country." Tark said, putting his wing on Ben's back.

"That's wonderful!" I exclaimed. It seemed that the newspaper meant a lot to Ben. "But, what were you saying before? The tyrant is ignorant about what?"

"Well, he's ignorant about the way rebellions work." Explained Ben. "We aren't the ones who'll begin the rebellion. We never would as we aren't even _able_ to begin a rebellion. Forenham is just a small city which's only advantage is its connection with the Representatives. The Pokemon of Aesler need more than one city to rebel. We may have kept their hopes alive as long as we were free but, it would be a really foolish move to rebel with such a small force.

"The Pokemon relied on the return of the Representatives. Without the Representatives, Forenham is nothing, much less a threat. However, we now have everything we need for a rebellion and, yes, I mean you. Now that you're here, the tyrant's going to really see why he must be afraid of us."

"It's not just us, Ben. The whole country will slowly begin to rebel. Just wait and see, Representative. The fun is about to begin!" Tark winked and with a last, proud smile, he closed the gates, disappearing from our sights.

~*~

"Advisor Rai wishes to see you, your Majesty."

"Tell him to come in."

The soldier exited the throne room to find the Luxray waiting outside impatiently. "His Highness accepted to see you." the soldier told him.

"Of course he did." Mumbled Advisor Rai and entered the throne room.

A giant red carpet extended from the door to the end of the room where the throne stood. Flags were hanging from the giant columns that supported the ceiling. The few sun rays that lit the room were barely enough for one to see the ceiling which was pretty high. An enormous, deep red-colored flag was hanged above the throne. A sphere grabbed by talons was painted on the flag, the current flag of Aesler. Except for the tyrant's crown, there was nothing of value in the room. Rai knew that the tyrant didn't like to show off his riches. He preferred to keep them for himself.

Rai bent his front legs and his head, kneeling in front of the tyrant.

"You were at the battle with Forenham if I'm not mistaken. I would like to hear what you have to tell me." Said the tyrant's cold voice.

"Your Highness, I can't understand how these Pokemon were able to beat your mighty army. I-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses!" cut him the tyrant. "I want to hear what you suggest I do. That's why I made you my advisor."

"I believe that it was Commander Vatish's inability, Your Majesty. He didn't know how to handle the situation."

"I see. And," the tyrant's voice became threatening, "how did the Representative get into the city?"

Rai grit his teeth. "I don't know, your Majesty. I don't have the slightest idea."

"Maybe you propose it was the guards' mistake? Should I replace them too?" the tyrant's voice was sarcastic and it showed that he enjoyed torturing his advisor.

"Do as you wish, your Highness." Replied Rai, gritting his teeth so hard that he thought they would break.

"Stand up, Rai." The Luxray straightened his legs at his master's command. "And look at me."

The electric type Pokemon had to try really hard to find the power to look into the tyrant's eyes. He raised his head and his yellow stare was met with two angry, purple eyes. Rai felt like he had frozen solid. The tyrant's unusual eye color was as creepy as the tyrant himself. A long beak and a spiky, red fluff were the rest of the tyrant's facial characteristics. He was brown-colored like every Fearow. He flapped his wings as he stood up from his throne where he had roosted and landed in front of his advisor.

"I suspect that you know whose mistake was, eh? I have a way to learn everything Rai! It's your first wrong move so I'll pretend that it never happened BUT, no more mistakes from now on. Are we clear?"

"Yes your Majesty. Thank you very much!"

The advisor left from the throne room with his head bent. As soon as he exited and the doors shut behind him, he gritted his teeth once more and mumbled something no one managed to hear.

~*~

We parted with Ben at the Veil River. He went south while we kept going to the east, were Litvar and the Revival Forest were situated. Some weeks later, we had managed to reach the Forest unharmed. After two days, we stumbled upon the first houses of the city.

Litvar was a neat city with no walls surrounding it. All the buildings were wooden and you could sometimes mistake them for trees as they were covered in moss. The rays of the sun had a difficulty passing through the dense foliage of the trees so the city was a little dark like the rest of the Forest. In the middle of the city stood an enormous wooden building; the library. A gigantic tree could be seen coming out from the middle of the building.

At the library's entrance stood a two-legged, male, ochre Pokemon. Some parts of his body were brown and he was holding two spoons. He had a long mustache and a strong aura surrounding him. He was looking around and when he spotted us, he rushed towards us.

"You're the Representative and her partners, right? I'm, Synp. I was waiting for you."

"Nice to meet you Synp! Tark has told us about you." I said. I noticed a Pokemon exiting the library. The Pokemon looked at me wide eyed and dashed towards a group of other Pokemon. Soon enough the whole group was staring at me curiously.

'_Here we go again!'_ I thought. I realized that I was back to reality. My visit in Forenham, a city so used to having Representatives that its Pokemon considered me as one of them, had ended and it was time to face the rest of the country which believed that I was some extraordinary creature.

"I would suggest that you keep yourself hidden, Representative. Don't forget that you're not in Forenham anymore. Soldiers can come to investigate anytime!" instructed me Synp.

"Alright, I'll be more careful." I replied half-heartedly.

"Now, go into the library and be careful. I'm going to bring something!" told us Synp. His eyes were twinkling like those of a child who hid a secret. He left with a speed abnormal for his age.

"He sure is weird!" commented Rien as we entered the library. In other circumstances, the sight would have left me jaw-dropped. Bookcases as tall as the library itself were creating countless corridors. Books were filling their shelves and several Pokemon were climbing stairs to reach those which were too high for them. The giant tree was taking a big part of the library. Tables were put around it and I could see some plaques on the tree's trunk. My friends gasped as they entered the library but I only glanced around me before bending my head.

"What's up, Jolty?" I thought you liked books." Feather worriedly asked me.

The librarian looked at us as we passed in front of her desk but, fortunately, the right side of my torso was hidden from her sight so, she returned to reading some papers, paying us no heed. We went towards a bench and sat.

"It's not that I don't like the place, Feather. It's just that I feel like a prisoner again." I replied. "You know, I felt free when we were in Forenham. I'm hiding from something my whole life. Hiding from the curious stares, hiding from the soldiers, hiding from those who could harm me… I'm sick of hiding. I couldn't enjoy anything at all back in my village! I couldn't get out and play, I couldn't visit other villages, I couldn't talk much about my life… That's why I'm a bit antisocial."

"You weren't antisocial all that time." Delilah pointed out.

"I'm fighting my shyness off." I told her with a sigh. "If I'm to rule the country and find allies I have to talk. You just can't imagine how difficult it is for me. I know that I have to say something or the others will think that I'm rude or that I don't like them."

"Well, think about it, Jolty. You're just experiencing what every Pokemon in Aesler does. They can't do what they want because they're afraid of the tyrant. They're hiding too. They too try to fight their fears off and rebel like you do. I hope that you understand what I mean." Said a voice from a table next to us. We turned towards it surprised.

A female Linoone wasthe owner of the voice we had heard. The Linoone was weasel like, and cream-colored with brownish red-colored stripes instead of the normal brown colored ones. Her eyes were sparkling with intelligence and her thick tail was whipping the air happily. She shouldn't be more than fourteen years old.

"I'm Lina. It's my honor to meet the Representative and her partners Rien, Delilah and Feather."

"You know our names!?" Feather asked surprised.

"Everyone knows you, guys! The news of what you did in Forenham has spread to the entire country. So, Representative, do you get what I mean?" she asked me but her tone wasn't rude or haughty.

"I do and what you said has given me one more reason to try harder for peace in Aesler. I don't want the Pokemon to live the life I do. It's horrible!"

"There are a lot you must do, Jolty." Rien solemnly told me. "Believe me, I understand what it means to be afraid that someone might hurt you for what you are."

I had the feeling that Rien was talking more about himself than about myself but Synp's return didn't leave me much time to think why he told these words. Synp was holding an old key and seemed delighted.

"Oh, I see that you met Lina! She comes to the library every day, you know! She's one loyal reader!" the Alakazam smiled at her and turned to us once again. "Now follow me! I want to show you that… room." He enigmatically said.

"Wait! You don't mean…" Lina's jaw dropped. Synp put his finger in front of his mouth.

"I think that you read too much, Lina! I don't know how you learned about it but I guess that it doesn't matter! Just don't tell anyone about it!" Synp strictly told the Linoone and pushed us towards the exit of the library. "I'm overjoyed! The time has finally come! It was difficult to keep such a secret for all the years of my long life but now I can show it to someone!" Synp excitedly said as we exited the library. _'What wonders will be shown to me again?' _I wondered to myself while we were heading outside of the city.

* * *


	9. Chapter 8: The secret room

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon but I do own the characters and plot of this story.**

**Chapter 8**

**The secret room**

Synp was walking in a fast pace and we had to run to catch up with him. We weren't that far from the city when the Alakazam stopped in front of another enormous tree. He approached it and began touching it here and there. Soon, we saw him putting his finger in what seemed like a tiny keyhole.

"Bingo!" he exclaimed and unlocked with the key. He pushed the tree's trunk and a door opened. We approached. The tree was empty in the inside and we could see stairs leading underground.

"Are these the catacombs?" asked Delilah.

"Their exit." Replied Synp. "Let's get in now."

Synp entered and we followed him. After a lot of stairs we found ourselves in a high ceilinged room made of rock. Litvar's catacombs were more complicated than Forenham's. I saw stairs leading upwards at our left and a big, arched, oaken door in front of us.

"The leaders of Litvar are obliged to keep the secret of this room hidden for, if the tyrant finds out about it, we will never be able to bring him down." Synp solemnly told us.

He approached the door and put the key in the keyhole. I noticed that there were carvings of flowers on the door. With a creaking sound, the door opened slowly. We entered the room and gasped at the sight.

The room's ceiling was so high that we couldn't see it. It was a huge and almost circular room. Its walls were covered in shiny, blue crystals. The floor had big square pieces of glass covering it. That was because beneath the glass, I could see millions of tiny, crystal fragments which could probably hurt whoever stepped on them.

Although the room was a miracle itself, what was inside it was an even bigger one. Countless statues made of crystal were placed in the room. They were so beautifully carved that they seemed to be alive. They represented different kinds of Pokemon in their physical size. As I looked around me, everything in the room sparkled; the crystals on the walls, the statues and the fragments beneath my feet. It was a wonderful sight.

"This underground cavern is one of the many caverns which extend until the mountains on the south. When the Representatives built Litvar's catacombs, they found huge amounts of crystals and other gemstones. It was later decided to make a crystal statue of every Representative. As you can understand, the crystals were so many that they didn't know how to put them in use."

"And what about the gemstones? I don't see any." Noticed Feather.

"The gemstones are hidden at another room which is currently completely sealed. We could reach it from this room but we would have to break a certain part of the wall." Replied Synp, pointing at the wall to our right.

"No one is aware of the existence of this room or the rest of the underground caverns. The catacombs are the only way to reach them. The tyrant must have heard about it somehow and is now trying to find it."

"Is that true? Aren't you afraid that someone might steal the key and get in here?" I asked the aged Pokemon.

"Of course I am! That's why this room opens only once for each leader of Litvar. We are very careful when we are about to show it to anyone and we hide the key in a different place every time."

"I don't think you were that careful." Rien pointed out.

"You think I wasn't!" Synp replied a bit irritated. "I used Psychic all the time. If there was anyone out there, I would have sensed them!"

"So, why did you show us that room when it's so dangerous?" I asked.

"This room is your inheritance, Representative. You'll have a statue in this room too one day and money will certainly be needed for the rebellion. That's why I told you that if the tyrant finds out about this room, he'll not only destroy these masterpieces, but he'll also take all the gemstone we have stored.

"With all these gemstones, we can fortify all of our cities and buy all these things that nature can't provide us. Plus, when all this ends, there will be enough money to fix any damages and return Aesler to its former glory." Explained Synp.

_'If that ever happens…'_ I thought but then shook my head. _'Think positive Jolty!'_ I silently instructed myself.

I walked forward and began examining the statues. They indeed were the Representatives. All of the statues had the Golen onto them. I noticed that most of the marks were at the torso though there were a few cases where it stood at one of the Pokemon's legs or at their head or even at their tail. I also noticed that the statues seemed to have an aura that declared a characteristic of the Representative's personality. Some statues reflected power, others kindness, others smartness and others courage. I couldn't help but wonder what my statue would reflect.

As I kept going, I reached the last statues. I immediately felt a chill. "These are the statues of the last Representatives." Told me Synp.

_'No wonder they have this feeling of despair around them.'_ I thought.

I also noticed that there were sixteen statues. Horan's statue wasn't there. Seeing the statues of these Pokemon that lived three hundred years ago and mysteriously disappeared made me wonder why they left us in the first place and why _I_ was here instead of them.

Of course, no one could answer to my questions… We admired the place a little longer and we then returned to the city. Synp told us that he had to hide the key and advised us to stay at the library so we got back to the majestic building.

"Who knew that our country had so many secrets?" said Feather as we entered the library.

"Aesler really is a wonderful place. That tyrant made it seem poor and unimportant." Delilah replied, receiving some worried glances from those near to us. They were probably afraid that someone would hear her and call the soldiers.

"Oops!" cried Delilah.

"You must censor yourselves in our city." Said a familiar voice.

"Lina!" I addressed the red Linoon.

"How do you do this?" asked her Rien.

"How do I do what?" she questioned amused.

"How do you sneak on Pokemon and listen to their conversations without anyone noticing you?" Rien asked once again, making his question clearer.

"Linoons are made to be able to sneak like that." Replied Lina, lifting her shoulders. "So, what did the room look like?" she questioned me, leaning towards me and lowering her voice.

I glanced at my friends. I wasn't sure if I could trust her.

Lina seemed to realize my doubt. "I already know about it so it makes no difference."

"You could be bluffing." Delilah pointed out.

"It's a room full of crystals. There are statues in it and you can reach another room by breaking a wall. Will you tell me now?"

"If you know that much about it why do you ask us?" Feather narrowed his eyes.

"Tell me." She demanded.

"Well, it's a circular room. There are crystals on the walls and there are many statues made from the same crystal. The statues replicate all the previous Representatives and yes you can reach another room from there. Happy now?" I replied trying to stay calm.

Lina's expression became worried. "They found out!" she said in a bewildered way.

We looked at each other confused.

"I heard about the room from some soldiers." She started and we gasped at her words. "That's what I do; I sneak up on them and eavesdrop their discussions. They know that Synp has the key but they don't know where he has it hidden. I'm sure they will find out soon, though!"

"We have to do something!" Rien said.

"You have to do something about what?" Synp's voice asked.

"Synp!"

We began explaining to him what was going on. The Alakazam's expression darkened as we spoke.

"When did you overhear that discussion, Lina?" Synp questioned the Linoon.

"This morning just before Jolty arrived."

"Wait a minute! That means that there are soldiers in the city!" exclaimed Synp.

Lina nodded vividly. I felt my blood freezing. That meant that we were in great danger as anyone could call them to arrest me!

"Representative, you must leave immediately!" Synp frantically told me.

"And the room?" Rien asked.

"I'll have to destroy the key and seal the exit and the entrance." Synp solemnly replied.

"But then we won't be able to reach the gemstones. You yourself said that they will be necessary!" protested Delilah.

"When the time comes, you'll have to find another way to get there." He said sadly. "Until then, the tyrant and his soldiers must stay away from the room at any cost!"

And with these words, Synp dashed out of the library. "I'll escort you out of the city." Told us Lina.

"Thanks for your help. If it wasn't for you... I don't want to think what would have happened." Feather gratefully told her.

"It was nothing." Said the Linoon as we were running at the leaf covered streets of Litvar, making several Pokemon stare at us puzzled.

Lina had the boldness to follow empty streets and hidden passageways which she knew there were no soldiers. I hardly realized that we could have easily stumbled upon a soldier when we first entered the city. We were so close to danger and we hadn't realized it.

Some minutes later, we had managed to reach the last houses of the city without unfortunate encounters. I was grateful that the city had no walls or else there would be soldiers guarding its gates.

When we left the city behind us, we stopped to catch our breaths. "Thank you so much, Lina." I said breathing hard.

"My honor to help the Representative." She replied. I knew that I had heard that before. She threw her arms around me in a hug and then hugged Delilah, Rien and Feather. "I suppose that you'll return someday. When you do, don't forget to search for me. I'll be glad to help you."

We bid farewell to the odd-colored Linoon and began running towards the south, not really knowing where we were heading. Thus, we left another city, escaping like criminals and running once more to save ourselves.

* * *

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	10. Chapter 9: Dagger Range

**Okay, I haven't updated for a month! I promise to update more frequently from now on!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon but I do own the characters and plot of this story.**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Dagger Range**

We stopped running when we decided that we weren't in danger anymore. We tried to zig-zag through the forest so that we would make it more difficult for the soldiers to track our scent in case they were after us.

"I wonder if Synp will be okay..." Said Delilah.

"Let's hope that everything will be fine." Replied Feather. "We won't find out anytime soon though so let's not think about it anymore."

"I wanted to stay more in Litvar. I wanted to explore the city and maybe read a book or two but, I guess that I forgot that I'm not in a nice trip around Aesler." I sighed, a bitter tone in my voice.

"You can be glad that you got to see the city even for a small period of time, Jolty. Not to mention being privilledged to enter the crystal room." Rien pointed out.

"I guess you're right." I replied. "I just wish we didn't have to run away like that."

We kept going south, knowing that it would take us some days to exit Revival Forest.

~*~

A key was floating in front of Synp's face with a purple aura surrounding it. Synp's eyes were glowing and sweat run on his face. It was the first time he tried to completely destroy an object and it was more difficult than he thought it would.

A crack appeared on the key's surface and then another and another. With a last mental attack, the key broke to a million fragments which fell to the ground. Synp lost his balance and fell but he immediately stood up. He hadn't finished yet.

He dashed outside of the city and went to the catacombs' exit. He approached the door and laid a hand on it. The same purple aura appeared around the door. Nothing seemed to change but Synp knew that the lock and the edges of the door were melting, making it impossible for anyone to open it.

When he finished he crumbled to the ground breathless. _'I'm getting old.'_ he thought while breathing hard. He reminded himself he had to return to the city so he tried to stand up. He made a step but he tripped over. He pushed himself up, trembling. His powers slowly returned and he managed to make some more steps. He soon walked normally again and headed back to the city. The room and the gems were safe.

~*~

We were finally away from the forest but we had to face another problem; in our way stood the Dagger Range which was named like that because of its high and steep mountains that looked like daggers shooting at the sky.

"What now?" asked Delilah, looking at me.

"The Range is dangerous." I said laconically.

"So?" Rien said impatiently.

"I don't know. The Range doesn't have a good reputation. They say that there are a lot of precipices and predators. Not a good idea to go up there. We should better go around it."

"Or maybe you won't go anywhere!"

We turned around startled. An Electivire, a Primape and a Marowak were standing there probably having jumped out from some bushes, with nasty grins on their faces. "What a nice surprise! See who's here!" said the Electivire.

"Isn't that the Representative?" the Marowak asked and his eyes had a greedy gleam.

"I think that the tyrant will be really glad if we bring her to him... But we'll be even glader to get the reward!" Cackled the Primeape.

I gritted my teeth. They were strong Pokemon and had type advantages against us. I thought for a second and decided to follow a risky plan. "Let's let them catch us and then we'll find a way to escape afterwards." I whispered grimly to the others who nodded.

"What are you whispering over there?" asked the Marowak angrily.

"We're saying that you won't catch us that easily!" shouted Delilah and fired some sparks towards the Marowak which laughed.

"They don't even know about type advantages! That will be way too easy!" The Marowak dashed towards Delilah and I while the Electivire grabbed Feather and Rien.

"The others will be pleased!" said the Primeape, rubbing his hands.

"The others? You're full of muscles and no mind, Buck! We'll have to divide the reward among everyone that way. Why do that when we can divide it by only three?" the Electivire told the Primeape named Buck.

The Marowak lifted Delilah and me without much care while the Electivire lifted Rien and Feather. _'They must be really strong to lift us like that.'_ I thought. _'But how long can they last?'_ I knew that they would soon be exhausted and then we would be able to escape.

The three Pokemon headed towards the Dagger Range. The scenery began to change as the mountains towered above us and unknown -to me- foliage appeared. Everything seemed darker in the mountains while there were no sounds of Pokemon. The path was rocky while from there the mountain faces seemed completely vertical. Far to our right, I could see a gorge full of trees and bushes and I could see more mountains, more gorges and more cliffs as we kept going. It was both a beautiful and scary sight to behold the wild beauty of the range.

"We haven't caught any pray for days! I'm hungry!" complained the Marowak.

"You're a grown up, go find food on your own!" Buck spat at him.

"And how I'm I supposed to do that when I have to carry these two?" said the Marowak, holding Delilah and I in front of Buck's face.

"Then just bring 'em to me and go!" the Primeape angry replied, taking us from the Marowak's hands.

Before the Primeape was able to grasp us tightly I shouted: "Now!"

Delilah and I let loose some electricity, startling the Primeape who dropped us to the ground. Feather and Rien used Quick Attacks to escape the Electivire's grasp. "Run!" shouted Rien and we darted forward, following the uphill road.

The three Pokemon recovered from their shock and ran behind us. We had a disadvantage as, in contrast with our chasers, we didn't know where we were going and whether the road led somewhere. The Electivire fired a Thunderbolt but I jumped right on the electric bolt and blocked the attack by absorbing it, thanks to my volt absorb ability.

Feather flew in front of us, searching for possible paths we could choose. "There's a log connecting this mountain with the mountain next to it. We can cross it and then break it or something so that they won't follow us." He told us in a low voice when he returned.

"Then let's speed up!" I said and then screamed as the Marowak's bone had hit the rocks above us, causing some of them to fall.

"Attack you idiots!" hollered the Primeape.

"I'd like to see _you _attacking! At least we can use more than just physical attacks!" the Electivire spat at Buck.

This small argument allowed us to get ahead of them a little more. "You'll see the log anytime now." Said Feather encouragingly.

Indeed, the path became narrower and there was a rather dangerous precipice on our right. Straight ahead we saw a fallen log which connected the path we were following with another mountain. Of course, the idea of crossing that log with the danger of falling to the gorge hundreds of meters below us was unappealing but we had no other choice.

I jumped on the log and I immediately remember that I was afraid of heights. I gulped. I made a small step, shaking violently.

"C'mon, Jolty! If they catch us we're done for." Delilah said to me.

I gulped once more and I began to walk on the log. My legs were shaking, making me fear that I would fall. My friends were walking onto the log too, while we heard our persecutors getting closer. The three Pokemon reached the log and stopped immediately.

"I'm not going there!" declared the Marowak.

"Neither do I." agreed the Electivire. "We can't leave them get away, though. We'll return with the others."

To our surprise, the three Pokemon turned their backs and left. We couldn't understand what had happened and what caused their sudden retreat but we were glad we were safe. We crossed the log and Feather flew to its middle. He pushed it as hard as he could and, with our help, the log fell to the gorge below.

"Just to make sure that they won't follow us."

We kept wandering on the mountain until nightfall. We had no clue where we were going and that mountain seemed to be a really big one. The scenery was pretty much the same so we couldn't really know if we had made any progress.

"It's dark and I don't think we should continue. We could get lost." noted Rien and we all agreed.

"Let's just find a protected place and sleep there." I suggested.

We walked a bit more in search for an actual forest, not just bushes and random trees though we weren't sure if there even was a forest here. We just followed the path in hopes of finding one.

"Don't you guys smell something?" asked Delilah, taking noisy sniffs.

"Now that you mention it I thi- Aaaargh!"

We all screamed as about thirty black and grey furred Pokemon appeared out of nowhere, circling us. They looked like wolves and were growling viciously. I noticed that their ribs were visible and were pretty thin, a sign of starvation. That was no good thing as we probably were going to be their food.

The Mightyenas attacked without further warning and all at the same time. We used the first attack that came to our mind trying to keep them away but, we knew we had no chance to beat them.

The pack of the Mightyenas attacked once more. Screams were heard as both my friends and I as well as the Mightyenas were hurt from an attack. A female darted towards me throwing me at the ground. I saw her face over mine, teeth bared. I used my Thundershock attack and she backed away to avoid it, only for a male to take her place.

I used Thundershock again but, althought he was stricken, he just stood there, not showing hurt or surprised. He pressed his paw on my chest and by that time I wished I knew how to use Pin Missile. He opened his jaws and he got ready for the final, fatal strike.

My Thundershock attack was once more in vain as the Mightyena simply ignored it, that hungry he was. Then, his eyes widened, staring at something on my body and he backed away quickly.

"Stop! Stop immediately! It's the Representative!"


	11. Chapter 10: The place beyond the moon

**Chapter 10**

**The place beyond the moon**

I stood up after the Mightyena got away from me. I saw that the female who had attacked me before was backing away from Rien and so did an aged, male Mightyena who had attacked Delilah. There was another male who refused to leave Feather but the Pidgeotto Pecked him, making him go away rubbing his nose.

"Serves you right, Gordon." The aged Mightyena strictly told him. "We apologize for attacking you, Representative. We haven't eaten anything for days."

I opened my mouth and then closed it again. I was speechless. I was always told of how heartless the predators were and how scary and evil but that pack in front of me was nothing like these descriptions. They were dying from hunger and they could have killed us but they didn't. They knew who I was and I could even say I felt sorry for them, seeing how horrible their condition was.

"It's okay, we understand." I managed to say after I got over my shock.

"I'm Rod, leader of the only Mightyena pack left in Aesler. Well, the night has fallen and the Dagger Range isn't a safe place for Pokemon of any sort. It would be our honor if you stayed with us."

I looked at the others who raised their shoulders a tad reluctantly. I decided there was no reason for uncertainty. "I guess that's fine." I replied.

Rod nodded. He turned his back to us and headed to the other direction. We followed him. I noticed that the other Mightyena reverently waited for their leader to pass in front of them before they began walking.

We took an uphill path and soon enough we reached a small plateau. A big rock formation stood to the opposite side of the path and the top of a mountain towered above it. The path from which we had just come was well-hidden with the foliage of the trees hiding it from above and thick bushes hiding it from the sides. On our left stood a precipice which revealed an enormous forest standing many meters beneath it and extending far until it met the foot of some other mountains.

"Here's where we gather." explained Rod. "The pack spends the day here so you know where you can find us. The caves where we sleep are over there." he pointed on the right of the plateau with his muzzle. "The first one is the one where you'll sleep. The pack will stay here as there's a disscussion that needs to be made. Have a good night."

We wished them good night too and headed towards the caves. The rocks formed something like a staircase which led to a plateau lower than the first one. Several caves stood on the rock walls all around the plateau. We headed to the first one and entered it. It had no decoration and no furniture inside except for the covered in hay floor. We fell asleep as soon as we lied down.

~*~

The next morning we woke up and headed immediately to the plateau. A rather moving sight awaited us there. Not only Mightyenas had gathered to the plateau, but other Pokemon species too. There were two female Fearows, a male Zangoose and a female Seviper. The last ones were sitting side by side, seeming to have forgotten everything about the rivalry between their species. Rod was sitting on the top of the rock formation and spoke about hunting strategies. Then he noticed us and waved to us, calling us to approach.

"Today, we have the honor to have with us the Representative and her partners. I hope that all of you will treat the visitors as hospitably as possible" Those who weren't aware of our presence turned their heads toward us surprised. We slowly approached the group of Pokemon and sat next to them. Soon, they averted their gazes from us focused to the Mightyena leader again.

"We won't go hunting today." Rod announced and most of the Pokemon seemed relieved. "We're far too tired and prey is rare and difficult to be caught; we would only be wasting our energy. However, we have many pups here that need food so whoever wants to bring some to them is free to go hunt."

There were a few Mightyenas, the two Fearows, the Seviper and the Zangoose that left immediately, heading to different directions. "Not you Lara." Rod addressed a female Mightyena, the same one who attacked me yesterday. She was ready to follow the hunters.

"Why not?" protested Lara.

"You'll be the one in charge now. I have to stay with our guests."

"But father-"

"Do what I say." Rod told her in a calm but stern voice.

The Mightyena obeyed, returning to her position and Rod jumped off the rocks and approached us. "Would you like me to show you our beautiful mountains?"

"Sure!" Rien replied enthusiastically as the dark type took the lead.

"So, that's your daughter?" asked him Delilah as we were taking the path which led away from the plateau.

"Yes." He laconically replied but even that single word showed how proud he was for her.

We remained silent for a bit. We soon reached the forest that could be seen from the plateau. After walking through thick foliage, we reached a lake of moderate size. There, we stopped to drink some water and rest. Rod wanted to learn about our adventures so we told him and then asked him to tell us about the Mightyena pack.

"Mightyenas and other predators were exiled to the Dagger Range when Jicicle rose to power." Said Rod. "Those who joined his side where allowed to stay in the cities but those who resisted were restricted in this Range. That's why you don't see many predators around Aesler. They either are soldiers or are living here.

"The lack of prey in the Range made the predators fight each other and soon many kinds of Pokemon were extinct. The only ones that remain in the whole Range are my pack and the six other Pokemon you saw. We decided that our only way to survive is to stay united so we now consider them members of the pack."

"But, that's great! You managed what the civilized Pokemon didn't. Um… not that you aren't civilized but, you know, everyone thinks that you're some kind of… er…" stammered Feather while his face had taken a red color.

Rod laughed. "I understand what you mean young one! There's no need to worry, you didn't wish to offend me."

"Okay..." Said Feather but the blush didn't leave his face. "I mean that you seem to be so close to each other and care for the other Pokemon, even if they're not of the same kind. Poorness has made many of the Pokemon selfish and bad in contrast with you; difficulties have united you."

"Yes, you're right. However, this won't last forever." Said Rod. We looked at him puzzled. "Nothing lasts forever. The unity was lost when the Representatives disappeared and the same will happen to our pack someday."

"So, do you believe that the Pokemon of Aesler will unify again someday?" I asked the aged leader.

"Of course! The real question is when will that happen? It can happen really soon," he glanced at me, "or it can happen in a million years. Nobody knows!"

"I'm not sure how probable that "soon" is." I said uncertainly.

"Well, Representative, is there a reason you believe that?" Rod asked me with a smirk.

"I'm a kid and I'm weak. No one really seems excited when meeting me and everyone acts like I can't understand many things."

"Examples?"

"Some doubted me," I said and I remembered Lyol and his conversation with the other Lapras, "some pointed out that I can't help," I remembered Tark who forbid me to help in the battle, "and well, the other one didn't get to talk to me a lot. Only children seem to truly believe in me." I said and looked at my friends while I remembered how the kids in my village admired me.

"So, I'm a kid too?" asked Rod laughing. I looked at him surprised.

"I think that you can restore Aesler to its former glory, Jolty. That's what we need: the innocence and kindness of a kid. Everyone's way of thinking is way too complicated and as an "uncivilized" Pokemon, I tell you that complicated thinking doesn't always lead to a solution. The only reason we survived was because we simplified things as much as possible and started living as our wild ancestors did."

When we finished resting, we followed the path back to the plateau. We sat there with the other Mightyena and waited for those who had gone to hunt. As soon as we arrived, Rod's young daughter approached us with a rather annoyed expression.

"Dad, please do something about Gordon! He's getting on my nerves!" she complained.

"You know that I can't do anything about him, Lara. You'll have to be patient and handle the situation yourself." Rod replied. The female Mightyena left with a sigh.

"Is something going on?" asked Rien.

"Well, it's a complicated situation. Lara is the only female without a mate in the pack and there are quite a few males without a mate so she has problems with all these guys."

"Why doesn't she choose someone so everything is settled?" Delilah asked the Mightyena.

"She's the daughter of the leader; she can't do whatever she wants." Rod replied with a sigh. "She has to find a strong male who can lead the pack."

We heard paws tapping on dirt and soon, those who had gone to hunt appeared. Their prey was only some bird Pokemon and a Spoink. Feather looked away when he saw a dead Pidgey in the mouth of a Mightyena. The cubs approached the hunters who gave all the food to them. However, the male who had attacked me approached our group. He was holding a Spearow and a Spoink. He let the Spearow fall in front of us.

"I thought that you'd need food." He told us solemnly. "You're our guests and you're kids." He called another Mightyena who came and left two apples. "And these are for you." he addressed Feather. "You don't eat meat so…"

The Mightyena seemed a bit shy. I could say that he was about twenty years old. "Thanks for your offer but you should better give them to the children. They need them more than we do." I said with a smile. The others nodded and the Mightyena seemed surprised.

"Okay then." He grabbed the Spearow with his jaws. "You can keep the apples though. No one eats apples here." He smiled. "Nice to meet you guys!"

We saw him leaving the Spearow to the puppies and then he approached Lara. He coughed and she turned around. She smiled and a blush appeared on her face. The male Mightyena blushed too and left the Spoink down.

"And that's Bright." Said Rod. "He's a promising youngster though a bit shy, nothing like the other males."

Lara pushed the Spoink away thanking Bright but he refused to take it and backed away. At the end she thanked Bright and took the Spoink. They nervously smiled to each other and as Bright backed away, he stumbled. He laughed embarrassed and left but he had a broad smile on his face.

We were watching the scene amused as the sun was setting. A Poochyena came towards us calling Rod. "Tell us a story, Rod!" the kid told the aged Mightyena.

"Alright I will." Smiled the leader. "You can come with me." He said to us and we followed him. All the kids sat in front of the leader and so did the Zangoose, the Seviper, a few grown-up Mightyenas and we.

"What fairytale will you tell tonight, Rod?" asked the white-colored, two-legged Pokemon with the red stripes.

"You're worssse than the kidsss, Sssteven!" hissed the snake-like, dark blue-colored Pokemon with the strange yellow and purple markings and the two long teeth. The two Pokemon laughed.

"Today, I'll tell you the story of a Mightyena called Leedan. Leedan was a lazy Pokemon. He never did anything important in his life because of that lazyness and lived off of the hard work of others. One day Leedan went to the "place beyond the moon", like every living being in our world."

I assumed that "the place beyond the moon" was the way Mightyena said "he died". Rod paused to see if anyone wanted to make any questions but everyone seemed to have understood.

"At the beginning, he used to have a bright light surrounding him, a sign that he was still remembered by those who were still alive. When they too died though, Leedan's light began to fade. Soon, nobody could see him because he didn't have the light anymore. Leedan was panicked and decided to speak to Merne, the wisest of the Mightyena residing to that faraway place, unreachable to us here. He travelled to Merne's living place and met him. Merne's light was so bright Leedan had to talk to him with closed eyes. Merne listened to his problem carefully and then he said:

"It's natural that your light faded, Leedan. That light indicates how much you helped the other Pokemon when you were alive. You didn't work so you didn't offer anything to the world or you family and friends. You neither did a great deed so you would be remembered through eternity and thus you left no mark in the world of mortals."

"Leedan understood and bent his head. He walked away ashamed and his name was forgotten forever and his form was invisible to the others. We only mention him through this story to show everyone what happens to those who waste their life pointlessly. Now, time to sleep, youngsters!"

The cubs thanked Rod for the story and headed to the plateau with the caves. "It was a great story, Rod!" said Feather.

"We tell this one to the children to show them that they must work hard so that their existence has a meaning and so that they would be remembered and praised by future generations. We're trying to inspire them to become a hero and maintain their pride as a Mightyena and living being." Explained Rod. "Well, I'll have to speak to my pack right now; this sortage of food is stressful for all of us. You can stay if you wish to."

The aged Mightyena jumped on the rock formation once more and with a howl he asked everyone to gather. He began speaking about the lack of prey and what the pack should do. The full moon had appeared bigger than I had ever seen it. The tops of the mountains as well as the firs were crested with moonlight and, combined with the moon and the stars they created a beautiful and wild scenic. I stayed there staring at it until I felt my eyes closing…


End file.
